Yvonne Tramm
Yvonne Tramm and husband Steve first went to Santa Pod Raceway in late 1974. They were completely ‘blown away’ by the spectacle and from the beginning of 1975 until today they have only missed five events. Children arrived, Spencer and Kirstie, and from a very early age the family sat on the spectator bank at the end of the quarter mile enjoying the racing. They joined the then organising club the British Drag Racing and Hot Rod Association (BDR&HRA), and after it had been renamed the British Drag Racing Association (BDRA) in 1983 Yvonne become the General Secretary – a club with around 1000 members at that time.
Most of the work was carried out at home, with all the family helping to send out tickets to racers, circulating the club magazine Drag Racing News and taking in membership subscriptions. Most of the press liaison was carried out by the club in those days too. There were Area Representatives to manage; they would organise evening social meetings for like-minded racers and spectators in pubs featuring drag racing films and presentations by the top racers of the day. These meetings were an important part of communicating with club members in the days prior to Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and club web sites. She also ran the club shop at Santa Pod Raceway, selling merchandise at the track and by mail order.
In the late eighties, she started managing the signing on of racers. This included much ‘on-the-day’ chasing of competitors. International meetings provided a special challenge and stories of Yvonne rushing down the fire-up road to sign on Swedish competitor the late Lee Anders Hasselstrom just prior to his next Funny Car pass, and confronting Norwegian Rune Fjeld – who has claimed to her on many occasions that he does not speak …
Ken Cooper
Ken ‘flathead’ Cooper is one of the true pioneers of British drag racing and hot rodding.
He bought his first car, a ’37 Ford coupe, in 1959 and soon turned it into a hot rod by fitting a ’41 Mercury flathead with dual exhausts, lowering the front suspension and painting it bright yellow.
Ken was one of the first members of the British Hot Rod Association and at the first AGM was elected as Midlands Division secretary. He also formed a local Hot Rod club known as the ‘Roadrunners’
Ken had been reading Hot Rod magazine during the 50s which inspired him to begin construction of a dragster in 1960. Things were starting to move forward for drag racing in Britain when Sydney Allard announced he was building a dragster but there was a problem in that the RAC didn’t have a separate class for them. Instead they grouped dragsters with circuit racing cars meaning front brakes and engine covers had to be fitted. If Ken was going to build a dragster he wanted it to be like what he had seen in Hot Rod Magazine so in 1962 he relegated the unfinished dragster chassis to the bottom of his garden and instead built another hot rod from a ’33 Ford Cabriolet, flathead powered of course, and much lighter.
With news in 1964 that the RAC now recognised dragsters as a separate class, Ken literally dragged his chassis out of the weeds in his garden and set about finishing it for the 1965 season debuting at the first practice meet at Graveley. Known as ‘Bazooka’ it was powered by another Mercury flathead topped off by three carbs on a Navarro manifold running methanol and with Edelbrock heads fitted it was looking every bit like an American dragster.
Ken replaced it …
John Clift
Anyone remotely interested in motorcycle Drag Racing during the 1970s and 80s will be familiar with the name John Clift. He was always a determined, hard charging competitor in Top Fuel, or Top Bike as it was called at the time; arguably the most competitive class in British Drag Racing in that period.
John originally competed in road racing up to National level, but a friend kept nagging him to have a go at sprinting. He started out drag racing in 1971 running in the Junior Bike class, but made rapid strides through the bike ranks as he developed his machinery.
He made his name first with a supercharged Triumph, interestingly called ‘The co-respondent’ and John was the third rider below 9 seconds in a fast and furious 1975 season. In 1979 he set the 1000cc record at 8.34s/165.
John was an early collaborator with HoF member Pete Davies, helping to develop world dominating Puma engine parts, in the search for better and stronger items to keep him racing. Travelling to race meetings with wife Pat and young daughters Julie and Nikki, it was a rare meeting for the lanky rider to be absent.
A talented fabricator, many well-known riders of the day, both in the UK and abroad, would use one of his rolling chassis or other fabricated components. His generosity of advice and financial terms were renowned throughout the paddock. At the same time he was a fierce competitor on the track, and would always make race day – no matter how many hours of work and travel it took.
He was one rider who helped build good relations in Holland in particular, where John and wife Pat were always very welcome guests. Their two daughters, Julie and Nikki, were brought up in the pits, and went on …